The primary objective of the current essay was to explore viable mechanisms through which the United States could reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. The discussion was informed by environmental and economic concerns and the fact that fossil fuels were finite resources. According to the Hubert peak theory (Maggio & Cacciola, 2009), the global fossil fuel reserves (including those in the US) would be exhausted towards the end of the 21st century. Other factors which informed the transition were outlined in the significance and literature review segments. Viable solutions to the current crisis were listed in the final section.
Thesis Statement
The US can reduce its dependence on fossil fuels through the adoption of clean energy (solar and wind energy) and electronic mobility.
Significance
Despite the availability of reliable evidence attesting to the fact that the fossil fuel resources were finite, the US energy mix was primarily made of fossil fuels. In particular, about 80 percent of the energy in the US was derived from fossil fuels; the trend had remained relatively unchanged since 1900 (US Energy Information Administration, 2015). Therefore, the adoption of renewable energy was marginal. In 2010, renewable energy supply to the national grid was about 10 percent. Therefore, the exploration of the alternative sources of energy was justified. The overreliance on the fossil fuel resources had increased energy insecurity given that 70 percent of the fossil fuels used in the US were imported from the Middle East, Venezuela and Canada (US EIA, 2018). The energy dependence had exposed the US stock market to shocks attributed to the variations in the global crude oil prices. For instance, the US stock market experienced a temporary recession when the crude oil exporting nations experienced economic or political instability (Kilian & Park, 2009). For instance, the Saudi Arabia oil embargo in the 1970s had destabilized the US energy sector (Sine & Lee, 2009). Thus, energy insufficiency was detrimental to the national economy.
Literature Review
The sustained use of fossil fuels was also detrimental to economic stability given that the energy market was exposed to the volatilities in the global crude oil prices. Sustained dependence on fossil fuels had exposed the country to energy insecurity because the US had increasingly become dependent on foreign nations such as Saudi Arabia and Canada to supply the crude oil. Fossil fuels were also responsible for global warming and climate change. The severity of global warming was evident in the US. In 2010, it was reported that the Arctic ice had receded by 32 percent (Jacobson & Delucchi, 2011); mitigating global warming was an emergency. Therefore, the paradigm shift to alternative sources of fuels was justified.
In the last four decades, the US had initiated specific measures to reduce dependence on the fossil fuels. The measures included higher investments in non-fossil fuel sources. The shift to clean energy was driven by the desire to reduce CO2
emissions and enhance energy independence (Kilian & Park, 2009). In the recent past, the US had increased the share of wind energy. For instance, the sector had recorded a 29 percent annual growth between 1996 and 2006. As of 2009, the US wind energy capacity stood as 16.818 MW (Sine & Lee, 2009). The investment had saved 28 million tons of carbon dioxide from the environment.
The MW capacity listed above constituted less than one percent of the national grid. Therefore, investments in renewable energy were insufficient. In addition to wind energy, the US had also made significant investments in solar energy. Solar energy use had grown by 18 percent; it was forecasted that by 2030, the US would be able to sustain all most all of its energy requirements using solar energy (Deloitte LLP, 2018; Morris, 2018). Based on the recent events, it was evident that the US government was committed to clean energy production.
Recommendations
Based on the information presented in the literature appraisal, it was evident that the transition into clean energy was not in tandem with the energy demands. Therefore, the first recommendation was that the US should accelerate the adoption of alternative sources of energy through the adoption of new legislation and higher government investments in alternative fuels. The above recommendation was premised on the fact that China had outperformed the US in clean energy investments (Jaeger, Joffe, & Song, 2017). China had invested more resources in clean energy. The federal tax credits (US Department of Energy, 2016), which were adopted by the US government to accelerate investments in clean energy were considered to be insufficient because wind energy supplied less than one percent to the national grid.
The second recommendation was that the US should encourage the adoption of hybrid electric vehicles and other forms of electronic mobility (Chu & Majumdar, 2012). The above approach was considered as a viable solution because transport was one of the largest consumers of fossil fuels. Statistics provided by the US EIA in 2017, indicated that jet fuel, diesel, and petrol supplied 89 percent of the energy used in transportation (US EIA, 2017). In contrast, biofuels and natural gas provided five and three percent of the transportation energy. Therefore, investments in electric mobility would reduce the demand for fossil fuels substantially. The recent success of Tesla electric vehicles in the US justified the above recommendation.
The third proposal was that the US government and private investors should halt the exploration of fossil fuels in the country including shale oil. Exploration of fossil fuels would reduce the impetus for clean energy given that the use of fossil fuels was associated with lower initial capital expenditure vis-à-vis clean energy. However, it was evident that the implementation of the recommendation was unfeasible at the moment given that the US government was exploring shale oil despite its earlier commitment to spearhead the adoption of clean energy. The extraction of shale oil was also detrimental to the environment; hydraulic fracturing polluted water source (US EIA, 2017). Therefore, the reduction in the dependence on fossil fuels was constrained by the absence of political goodwill, double standards and the availability of cheap fossil fuels.
Conclusion
The literature appraisal established that it was possible for the US to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. Economic and environmental factors constituted the primary motivation to shift from fossil to clean fuels. The adoption of green energy (solar and wind energy) was one of the viable means of weaning the economy off fossil fuels. Alternatively, the US should halt exploration of shale oil, and the government should encourage the adoption of electric mobility. A decline in the dependence on fossil fuels would enhance energy security and insulate the US economy from the volatilities in the global crude prices.
References
Chu, S., & Majumdar, A. (2012). Opportunities and challenges for a sustainable energy future. Nature, 488(7411), 294–303. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11475
Deloitte LLP. (2018). US solar power growth through 2040: Exponential or inconsequential? Retrieved May 29, 2018, from https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/energy-and-resources/articles/us-solar-power-growth-through-2040.html
Jacobson, M. Z., & Delucchi, M. A. (2011). Providing all global energy with wind, water, and solar power, Part I: Technologies, energy resources, quantities and areas of infrastructure, and materials. Energy Policy, 39(3), 1154–1169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2010.11.040
Jaeger, J., Joffe, P., & Song, R. (2017). China is Leaving the U.S. Behind on Clean Energy Investment. Retrieved May 29, 2018, from http://www.wri.org/blog/2017/01/china-leaving-us-behind-clean-energy-investment
Kilian, L., & Park, C. (2009). The Impact of Oil Price Shocks on the U.S. Stock Market. International Economic Review, 50(4), 1267–1287.
Maggio, G., & Cacciola, G. (2009). A variant of the Hubbert curve for world oil production forecasts. Energy Policy, 37(11), 4761–4770. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2009.06.053
Morris, D. (2018). Renewable Energy Surges to 18% of U.S. Power Mix. Retrieved May 29, 2018, from http://fortune.com/2018/02/18/renewable-energy-us-power-mix/
Sine, W. D., & Lee, B. H. (2009). Tilting At Windmills ? the Environmental Movement and the Emergence of the U. S. Wind Energy Sector. Administrative Science Quarterly, 54(0), 123–114.
US Department of Energy. (2016). Leveraging Federal Renewable Energy Tax Credits. Retrieved from https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/?page=us_energy_transportation
US EIA. (2017). Use of Energy for Transportation. Retrieved May 29, 2018, from https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/?page=us_energy_transportation
US EIA. (2018). How much petroleum does the United States import and export? Retrieved May 29, 2018, from https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=727&t=6
US Energy Information Administration. (2015). Fossil fuels have made up at least 80% of U.S. fuel mix since 1900. Retrieved May 29, 2018, from https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=21912
